Bethany in the Forums

Comments

bethlena Says:

Bethany is my name. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. My mum loved the name and chose it because it was uncommon in the year I was born (1995), but as soon as I started school, there were three other Bethanys in my class. I hated forever being called "Bethany B" by everybody (The others were Bethany H, Bethany T, and Bethany G). Because I had such a common name growing up, I would prefer to give my own children much less common names (but not too strange a name, of course!). Because my mum loved it, that means a lot to me, but I dislike it being shortened to Beth. These days, however, I have been told that Bethany is much less common than it was ten/fifteen years ago.

The teasing that I experienced was being called Beth-Fanny. I hated that!

bethlena Says:

headintheclouds Says:

An acquaintance recently named their daughter Bethany, which made me wonder about just how often I hear of the name, which is not very often at all! Bethany strikes me as a name that has been in wide usage for a long time and one that everybody knows-- I know a friend's boomer-mom, a couple of adult friends my age, a young teen and now baby named Bethany-- but one that has never been all that crazy-popular. This would be a solid name choice for parents who want a traditional name that is neither ubiquitous nor out of fashion.

Personally, Bethany isn't really my style-- it embodies the same qualities as Sarah and Abigail to me, where I find them rather bland. It ultimately sounds too gentle to my ears, without the core backbone I find in other soft-feeling names like Irene and Miriam. I still find the nickname Beth lovely and sweet though.